Travis froze. The blood instantly drained from his face, leaving him looking exactly as Elena had when he first walked into the room.
Before Travis could take another step, before he could formulate a lie or attempt to flee, the heavy double doors behind him burst open.
Two uniformed police officers and a plainclothes detective, flanked by three massive hospital security guards, stepped into the room, completely blocking the exit.
5. The Excision of the Monster
The plainclothes detective, a woman with sharp eyes and a no-nonsense demeanor, stepped forward, pulling a heavy pair of stainless steel handcuffs from her belt.
“Travis Vance,” the detective said, her voice cutting through the tense air of the trauma bay. “You are under arrest for the attempted murder and felony child abuse of Lucy Vance.”
Travis stumbled backward, his hands shooting up in a defensive, panicked gesture. “This is insane! It’s a mistake! She fell! My wife is hysterical, she’s making this up!”
“We also have a warrant to hold you pending extradition,” the detective continued relentlessly, grabbing Travis’s right arm and twisting it forcefully behind his back. “The Seattle Police Department has been notified of your location, and they are extremely interested in reopening a cold case regarding the death of your stepson.”
Travis fought. He thrashed violently against the officers, screaming obscenities, his face contorted into a mask of feral, desperate rage.
“Sarah, you stupid bitch!” Travis roared, spittle flying from his lips as the officers forced him face-down onto the linoleum floor. The heavy steel cuffs clicked shut, echoing loudly over his lies. “You’re nothing without me! You’ll never survive on your own! You’ll come crawling back to me begging for help!”
I stood perfectly still, watching the officers haul the thrashing, screaming man to his feet.
“I’d rather watch you rot,” I said softly, staring dead into his eyes.
The officers dragged him out of the trauma bay, his furious screams echoing down the hospital corridor until the heavy doors swung shut, finally sealing him away from our lives.
I didn’t watch him disappear. I turned my attention immediately back to my daughter, gently smoothing her soft, damp hair as the oxygen mask hissed softly over her face.
The next forty-eight hours were a chaotic, exhausting whirlwind of police detectives, social workers, and lawyers.
